Active Learning-Jigsaw

Purpose
Jigsaw is a cooperative learning technique developed by Elliot Aronson (1978) in which students leave their teams to work in expert groups to gather specific information or complete a portion of a task. It allows teams to divide a larger task or topic into smaller pieces so they can get more done in the same amount of time. It also lets students delve more deeply into one topic, and then reap the benefits of teaching their teammates
about it.

Breaking It Down
■ In Jigsaw, team members are divided among several expert groups, each assigned to a different topic.
■ All #1s work on the same project, all #2s on another, #3s on yet another, etc. Instead of creating an additional expert group, distribute any fifth members of teams among existing groups.
■ After completing work in their expert groups, the students return to their team and teach their teammates what they have learned.
■ By the end of class, each team member will have learned about all the topics.

Fine-Tuning the Technique
■ Be sure to review expectations with the whole class before teams split into expert groups. It is critical that the students understand what they are to do in their groups and what they will be expected to teach their teammates when they return to their teams. Write a key question or task on the board, a piece of chart paper, a transparency, or an expert page as a visual reminder to keep the students on task.

■ Don’t leave the sharing of information to chance after the students return to their teams. Provide a form where the students can record information from the different expert groups, or require them to answer questions that call for input from each team member. Ideally, these questions should not simply restate one or more questions from each expert group, but ask new questions that require the students to synthesize the information through team discussion.

■ In One-to-One conferences, ask team members to describe two things they learned from their partners. This helps remind students that they must listen carefully to their partners, and that their partners are also depending on them to provide good information. Award team cooperation points for active listening.

■ Pacing is key when you are using Jigsaw. Allow adequate time for both expert groups and teams to complete their parts of this technique. If time is short, you might need to modify the task—for instance, by limiting the number of questions you ask the students to research.

■ Vary the task to match your instructional goals and the abilities or interests of your students. One possibility is to have all students read the same text, with each expert group looking at it from a different perspective. This facilitates team discussion, as everyone is working from the same information and can challenge or support each other’s opinions based on what they have read. Another option is to have expert groups review different texts—for example, texts written at different reading levels, addressing different aspects of a common topic, or introducing different (but related) topics. This option allows you to individualize
instruction, but it also requires more planning and coordination.

■ In general, assign students to expert groups at random using Numbered Heads. Assign partners within the expert groups, so each student has someone with whom to share knowledge and resources.

■ If you choose to have each expert group working with different materials (for example, texts at different reading levels), decide ahead of time how you will determine expert groups. Will you assign students based on your own assessment of their abilities or interests? Will you allow the students to select what they want to work on? How much instructional time will this take? Is it important that each team sends a representative to one of the groups? If so, how will you make sure this happens? Plan the logistics before class begins, to minimize any disruption.

■ Test the students only on what they have directly studied! Never assess the students on a text they have not read or a task they have not had the opportunity to do. This is primarily a concern when expert groups are working with different readings or activities, as students’ only access to some of the material would come through the reports of their teammates. One easy solution is to use the same set of guiding questions for each expert group and to structure assessments along similar lines. This allows the students to draw chiefly on their own direct knowledge, while still incorporating relevant information gathered from other expert groups.

■ Set up a station with the materials from each of the expert groups, so students who wish to learn more about any of the topics can investigate on their own or with their partners.